University of Houston students trying to determine if life exists in Earth's upper atmosphere

In March, a group of University of Houston students — piggybacking on a payload with a prime mission to scope out auroras — will fly a high-altitude experiment from Alaska to see what microbes are in the high atmosphere, between 18 km and 50 km (11 miles and 31 miles) from the ground. The instrument, which looks almost like a small laundry hamper, pops open to collect what’s in the atmosphere. Then, as the balloon descends, it shuts closed for researchers to analyze.

The trip, called the Undergraduate Student Instrument Project, consisted of 20 students from different majors such as physics, biology, math, earth and atmospheric science, computer science, mechanical engineering, and petroleum and electrical engineering. The trip was funded by both UH and NASA.